Surplus killing

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/surplus-killing

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the habitat?Occurs across diverse habitats globally where predators encounter abundant prey
2. What is the key feature?Killing more prey than immediately needed, followed by caching or abandonment
3. What is surplus killing in animals?Surplus killing is when a predator kills more animals than it can eat right away. The extra animals might be saved for later or left behind. It happens because the predator is very hungry or the prey is easy to catch.
4. Why do animals sometimes kill more than they need?They do it when there are lots of prey that are easy to catch, like young or sick animals. The predator may also be very hungry or full of energy, so it keeps hunting to get more food.

Surplus killing: A predatory behavior involving the killing of more prey than can be immediately consumed.
Caching: The practice of storing food in a hidden location for later retrieval and consumption.
Proximate causes: Immediate environmental or physiological triggers that lead to a specific behavior.
Ultimate causes: Evolutionary explanations for why a behavior exists and its adaptive value.